First observation of excited states of 173Hg

The neutron-deficient nucleus 173Hg has been studied following fusion-evaporation reactions. The observation of the decay of excited states via γ radiation are reported for the first time and a tentative level scheme is proposed. The proposed level scheme is discussed within the context of the systematics of neighboring neutron-deficient Hg nuclei. In addition to the γ-ray spectroscopy, the α decay of this nucleus has been measured yielding superior precision to earlier measurements.